Learning Science Content Research Articles

Scientific sensemaking supports science content learning across disciplines and instructional contexts

Science consists of a body of knowledge and a set of processes by which the knowledge is produced. Although these have traditionally been treated separately in science instruction, there has been a shift to an integration of knowledge and processes, or set of practices, in how science should be taught and assessed. We explore whether a general overall mastery of the processes drives learning in new science content areas and if this overall mastery can be improved through engaged science learning. Through a review of literature, the paper conceptualizes this general process mastery as scientific sensemaking, defines the sub-dimensions, and presents a new measure of the construct centered in scenarios of general interest to young adolescents. Using a dataset involving over 2500 6th and 8th grade students, the paper shows that scientific sensemaking scores can predict content learning gains and that this relationship is consistent across student characteristics, content of instruction, and classroom environment. Further, students who are behaviorally and cognitively engaged during science classroom activities show greater growth in scientific sensemaking, showing a reciprocal relationship between sensemaking ability and effective science instruction. Findings from this work support early instruction on sensemaking activities to better position students to learn new scientific content.

What’s your goal? The importance of shaping the goals of engineering tasks to focus learners on the underlying science

Engaging in engineering tasks can help students learn science concepts. However, many engineering tasks lead students to focus more on the success of their construction than on learning science content, which can hurt students’ ability to learn and transfer scientific principles from them. Two empirical studies investigate how content-focused learning goals and contrasting cases affect how students learn and transfer science concepts from engineering activities. High school students were given an engineering challenge, which involved understanding and applying center of mass concepts. In Study 1, 86 students were divided into four conditions where both goals (content learning vs. outcome) and instructional scaffolds (contrasting cases vs. no cases) were manipulated during the engineering task. Students with both content-focused learning goals and contrasting cases were better able to transfer scientific principles to a new task. Meanwhile, regardless of condition, students who noticed the deep structure in the cases demonstrated greater learning. A second study tried to replicate the goal manipulation findings, while addressing some limitations of Study 1. In Study 2, 78 students received the same engineering task with contrasting cases, while half the students received a learning goal, and half received an outcome goal. Students who were given content-focused learning goals valued science learning resources more and were better able to transfer scientific principles to novel situations on a test. Across conditions, the more students valued resources, the more they learned, and students who noticed the deep structure transferred more. This research underscores the importance of content-focused learning goals for supporting transfer of scientific principles from engineering tasks, when students have access to adequate instructional scaffolds.

Guidance in inquiry-based instruction – an attempt to disentangle a manifold construct

ABSTRACTInquiry-based instruction is an important teaching strategy in science education that can be implemented to achieve different learning goals (e.g. the learning of science content or of inquiry skills and strategies). Inquiry-based instruction is often combined with guidance attempting to assist students to effectively engage in inquiry activities and, through this engagement, reach the intended goals. In recent research, the type and amount of guidance needed to foster student’s learninghas received considerable attention. One challenge in interpreting the results of this line of research is the manifold meanings of the term ‘guidance’ and its implementation in inquiry-based instruction. Moreover, the effectiveness of a particular type and amount of guidance may also depend on the learning goal that is to be achieved. In this paper, we draw on existing research and theoretical considerations in attempting to disentangle three major dimensions in which the implementation of guidance may vary: (a) the degree of autonomy, (b) the degree of conceptual information, and (c) the cognitive domain of guidance. We discuss how these dimensions can be used to capture and systemise fidings of existing studies as well as to infer desiderata for further research on the role of guidance in inquiry-based instruction.

Mixing languages for science learning and participation: an examination of Korean-English bilingual learners in an after-school science-learning programme

ABSTRACTBilingual and multilingual speakers mix two or more languages for communication, gaining information and sense-making in varieties of contexts. How do bilinguals mix languages and what does the mixing afford for their learning and participation? This study examines these questions, focusing on Korean-English bilingual youths in a community-based after-school science programme in the United States. A close analysis of videorecordings of the programme sessions demonstrates the ways in which bilinguals negotiate their participant positions and negotiate meanings in their study of science topics. The findings reveal that bilinguals utilise their Korean proficiency to craft diverse ways of participation and that linguistic and scientific sense-making co-occur and support each other. Based on these findings, I offer implications as to how science teachers should perceive students’ mixing of multiple languages and how they can support bilinguals’ learning of science content and English. Additionally, I suggest a future research direction that can help teachers to prepare for linguistically diverse science-learning and -teaching contexts.

Implementing Multiple AR Markers in Learning Science Content with Junior High School Students in Thailand

This study demonstrates a supplementary classroom technology using an Augmented Reality (AR) application to enhance students in learning Genetics at Junior High School in Thailand. The tool provides visual cards of concepts about Genetics with multiple AR markers (cards). An interactive experience provides students a multiple-choice format to respond to different cases (questions). Using a purposive sampling technique, sixty students from the 9th grade compared and selected AR markers to generate an animated two-dimensional graphic with sound feedback. In addition, the students’ learning scores were compared among the groups of different analytical thinking abilities who used single and multiple AR markers. The results found the potential of using Augmented Reality (AR) in supporting students’ learning especially in improving analytical thinking ability.

Use of Recast Intervention to Teach Causal Adverbials to Young Children With Developmental Language Disorder Within a Science Curriculum: A Single Case Design Study.

Purpose Language serves as an essential resource to learn about cause and effect throughout childhood. Causal adverbial sentences use causal conjunctions (e.g., because, so) to join 2 clauses to express cause-effect relationships ( Diessel & Hetterle, 2011 ). Causal adverbial sentences are frequently used to explain causal relationships in academic contexts, such as elementary school science and social studies classes ( Kinzie et al., 2014 ; J. Williams et al., 2014 ). Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are at risk for failure in these academically relevant language skills. Here, we investigated the effect of language intervention focused on causal adverbials on both causal adverbials and acquisition of science content in young children with DLD. Method A multiple-probe design was used to examine the effect of language intervention using recasts on production of causal adverbials and acquisition of science content for 7 preschool/kindergarten children with DLD. Child production of causal adverbials and an untreated control structure were analyzed. Results Six of 7 participants exhibited gains in production of causal adverbials containing because, with effect sizes ranging from small to large. Performances on daily probes of science content learning and science unit tests indicate that participants are able to learn science content, but the magnitude of gains may not relate to skill in causal adverbial production. Conclusion Language intervention for young children with DLD can effectively treat complex syntactic targets such as causal adverbials in the context of science instruction, but it is unclear whether this can affect science content learning.

Exploring the effect of reflection to inquiry teaching through lesson study for learning community

The purpose of this study is to explore the learning science of Junior High School teachers from inquiry-based learning strategy through reflection session during activity of lesson study for learning community program. Reflection is important part of the professional development of teachers through lesson study for learning community that teachers learn science content, didactic, and pedagogy. In lesson study for learning community program, teachers learn science content, learn how to develop lesson design, learn how to deliver the science lesson at real class and teacher learn also how student learn through reflection sessions. Data was collected through video recordings and field note from two classes. Then video recordings was transcribed and analyzed. We found the most discussed reflection theme is 48% about student learning activity. In addition the second most discussed theme of reflection is about the learning phase of 43% and 9% of teachers to reflect on learning content. And then we found that teachers play an important role to facilitate (a) students to engage in scientific investigation, both cognitively and attitude; (b) students to understand and build the concept through collaborative learning. Reflection session helps teachers to learn new teaching strategies from practice and improve student learning outcome.

Improving science content learning with choreographed songs at an astronomy summer camp

ABSTRACTIn this exploratory study, we looked at the effect adding a choreographed song to camp had on middle-school aged campers’ retention of two concepts: order of the planets with increasing distance from the Sun, and phases of the Moon listed in the correct order. We conducted pre- and post-assessments on these questions for multiple years of the camp; some years had a song to go with those topics, and other years did not have a song. We found that for years when the song accompanied these concepts, campers showed an overall greater increase in knowledge of these topics than for years when there was not a song. The songs in this study were accompanied by simple movements that were designed to highlight the lyrics. For order of the planets, the effect size was −0.34 for the year during which there was no song and effect sizes were 1.02, 1.34, and 0.59 for subsequent years during which there was the song with movement. For phases of the moon, effect sizes were 1.48 and 1.43 for the two years preceding the introduction of the lunar phases song, and the effect size was 2.04 the year this song and its motions were introduced.

Learning Demand and Classroom Discourse Design Tools to Improve Students’ Conceptual Understanding of the Nature of Electrolytes

This paper reports on two design tools used in a teaching sequence (module) based on the Leeds Model Framework. This model framework draws upon theoretical insights into perspectives on learning and empirical studies to improve the teaching of electrochemistry by using the learning demand and the communicative approach. The learning demand identifies the differences between everyday social language and the school scientific language in terms of both content and the nature of the knowledge that are used to represent the same phenomena. The communicative approach focuses on the classroom discourse, especially on how the teacher interacts with the students when new ideas are introduced on the social plane of the classroom. These two design tools present the fundamental guidelines that could be utilised in designing a teaching sequence to improve students’ conceptual understanding in any specific learning of science content. A study on two intact groups that had similar academic ability was carried out. The experimental class was conducted using the design teaching whilst the baseline group (comparison group) had followed the normal classroom teaching. The students’ conceptual understanding in both classes was tested using a post-diagnostic test. The evaluation of students’ responses of the items in the post diagnostic test was carried out using the ideographic and nomothetic approaches. The results show that there were significant differences in the experimental students’ performances in comparison to the students in the baseline group. The findings suggest that the learning demand and different types of discourses had enabled students to explain some aspects of electrolytic cell content in details. The experimental students had demonstrated better conceptual scientific understanding than the baseline group in the learning area concerning the nature of electrolytes in the electrolytic cell.

Fading distributed scaffolds: the importance of complementarity between teacher and material scaffolds

Designing learning environments with distributed scaffolding—support distributed across different instructional tools, activities, and the teacher—can help support students’ different needs, but a critical question is how the design incorporates the hallmark feature of responsive support. While most material scaffolds in instructional tools are inherently static, teachers can complement support provided in material scaffolds by providing responsive assistance and mediating students’ interactions within their environment to both support and challenge students. Our study explores the interplay between support embedded in instructional materials and scaffolding provided by teachers. We focused on how teachers’ scaffolding complemented the fading material scaffolds in a paper-and-pencil tool and how this combination of support impacted students’ learning of science practices and content. Differences in teachers’ responsive versus static scaffolding moves corresponded with differences in students’ performance as material scaffolds faded in support. One teacher complemented support provided by the material scaffolds by frequently monitoring students’ understanding and providing additional support as needed, even when material scaffolds faded; her students maintained a high level of performance throughout the unit. In contrast, the other teacher tended to extend the static kind of scaffolding found in the instructional materials rather than adapt support to his students’ needs as material scaffolds faded; his students showed a significant decrease in performance over time. Our findings show that the complementarity between responsive scaffolding moves from the teacher and scaffolding embedded in instructional materials is important for effectively supporting the wide range of students’ needs in the classroom.

Medical education dilemma: How can we best accommodate basic sciences in a curriculum for 21st century medical students? 1.

Over the years, the medical curriculum has been changed to accommodate a variety of evolving disciplines and an exploding scientific knowledge of the basic sciences to prepare "a competent physician" of the 21st century. Therefore, we must be innovative in our approach of curricular development if we wish to continue to incorporate new basic sciences knowledge in the face of decreasing contact hours to satisfy the buzz word, "integration". Certainly, the challenges are phenomenal. The question how to best integrate basic sciences, is not easy to answer as the objectives of the courses and outcome vary from one medical school to another and the fact is, one size does not fit all. However, if we believe that basic sciences are the language of medicine and foundation of clinical knowledge, then we must resolve this ongoing dilemma by introducing basic sciences through a better alignment in a given curriculum. The purpose of this review is to evaluate different curricular models for their basic sciences content and address their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, we will introduce a spiral design to integrate basic sciences for senior students. Finally, we will provide some insight as to how learning and retention of basic science content can be sustained.

The development of a bioenergy-based green chemistry curriculum for high schools

Abstract The Next-Generation Science Standards represent a major shift from learning science content to preparing students to become scientifically literate through inquiry and investigation. This article summarizes the unique opportunities available to develop a biotechnology laboratory course on biofuels that heavily emphasizes scientific practices in a high-school agriscience department in Wisconsin. Through collaborations with universities, federal research facilities, and the surrounding community, students were able to engage in rigorous learning experiences in a sociocultural setting in a manner that maximized their preparation for college and sustainable careers. This example also highlights how effective science teacher professional development and collaboration can allow for improved instructional opportunities in science education while also enabling positive contributions to ongoing scientific research.

Computer-model-based audio and its influence on science learning by people who are blind

ABSTRACTAccess to curriculum learning materials is a central need for students who are blind. This research examined the use of Listening-to-Complexity (L2C) based on NetLogo, an agent-based modeling language enabling exploration and construction of models of complex systems. L2C, designed for users who are blind, provides several auditory streams synchronically through sonified feedback. Studied here is a learning curriculum integrating L2C interactions, which covering scientific conceptual knowledge, systems reasoning, and Kinetic Molecular Theory of gas and gas laws in chemistry. The research included ten participants who are blind, using three data collection tools: background questionnaire, pre- and posttest questionnaires, and learning curriculum with the sonified models. Results indicate that the sonified model facilitates access to key challenging scientific concepts, including complex phenomena. Findings indicate gains in learning science content; participants were able to collect and construct scientific knowledge through L2C interactions. There are likely long-term practical benefits in science education for students who are blind, which will facilitate their inclusion in a general K-12 program.

Making inquiry-based science learning visible: the influence of CVS and cognitive skills on content knowledge learning in guided inquiry

ABSTRACTMany science curricula and standards emphasise that students should learn both scientific knowledge and the skills associated with the construction of this knowledge. One way to achieve this goal is to use inquiry-learning activities that embed the use of science process skills. We investigated the influence of scientific reasoning skills (i.e. conceptual and procedural knowledge of the control-of-variables strategy) on students’ conceptual learning gains in physics during an inquiry-learning activity. Eighth graders (n = 189) answered research questions about variables that influence the force of electromagnets and the brightness of light bulbs by designing, running, and interpreting experiments. We measured knowledge of electricity and electromagnets, scientific reasoning skills, and cognitive skills (analogical reasoning and reading ability). Using structural equation modelling we found no direct effects of cognitive skills on students’ content knowledge learning gains; however, there were direct effects of scientific reasoning skills on content knowledge learning gains. Our results show that cognitive skills are not sufficient; students require specific scientific reasoning skills to learn science content from inquiry activities. Furthermore, our findings illustrate that what students learn during guided inquiry activities becomes visible when we examine both the skills used during inquiry learning and the process of knowledge construction. The implications of these findings for science teaching and research are discussed.

The Impact of a Middle School Engineering Course on Students’ Academic Achievement and Non-Cognitive Skills

Engineering and integrated STEM experiences are being promoted at the K-12 level to increase interest and retention in STEM and to reinforce learning of mathematics and science content. However, research is still emerging regarding best practices for curriculum development, student impacts, and transfer of knowledge across disciplines. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of middle school engineering curriculum on students‘ academic achievement in science and mathematics and also on non-cognitive skills such as student engagement and self-efficacy in academics. Specifically, the Engineering Design Process (EDP) conceptual model is used as a framework for the engineering curriculum, which is also grounded in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) practices while integrating science practices and foundational mathematics. Participants include 6th-8th grade students at four public middle schools in Georgia. The research results show that students who have taken at least two engineering courses show statistically significant gains on state-level standardized science and mathematics tests over those students who were never enrolled in these courses. Further, the results show a statistically significant increase in cognitive and behavioral engagement in STEM and science interest. The results of this study support the idea that enabling students to practice their science and mathematics skills and knowledge within the context of interesting and engaging middle school engineering classes can significantly benefit both their engagement in STEM and their academic achievement.

Priming students for whole-class interaction: using interdependence to support behavioral engagement

Student interaction at a whole-class level is tied to learning outcomes, but encouraging students to engage with their peers at a whole-class level is difficult. While little research has sought to promote student engagement with one another at this level, one factor that has been shown to increase student interaction in pairs and small groups is student–student interdependency. Yet, to date, no studies have attempted to examine the impact of prior interdependency at this smaller scale on students’ interactions as a whole-class. The current study tested this relationship in an undergraduate class learning science content (n = 19) through structuring interdependency (task and resource) during science learning. Students completed six science learning sessions each of which included a science learning activity followed by a whole-class concept mapping task. Students were audio and video recorded during the whole-class task, and then individual student behavior was coded in 10 s intervals during the first 10 min of each session. Generalized regression results showed that adding small group interdependency during learning predicted significantly more student science discussion (R2 = .05) and supportive interactions (R2 = .16), while predicting decreased expressions of science misunderstanding (R2 = .07) during the whole-class task. Additionally, the combination of task and resource interdependency predicted a further decrease in student expressions of misunderstanding (R2 = .07), but also increased student social distraction in comparison to task interdependency alone (R2 = .28). Together these findings suggest that prior interdependency can be leveraged to increase student behavioral engagement at the whole-class level.

Student Teachers’ Images of Science Instruction in Informal Settings: A Focus on Field Trip Pedagogy

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to explore student teachers’ images of science instruction in informal settings and how these images explicate their field trip pedagogy. Field trips refers to planned, structured, and adaptable ways of learning science outside the science classroom that are connected to the school science curriculum. Field trip pedagogy collectively refers to pre–, during–, and post–field trip pedagogies and teachers’ decision-based actions central to making connections between in-school science and out-of-school science. An analysis of drawing and narrative data indicated that (a) field trips were predominantly situated within the schoolyard and (b) science instruction during field trips as social constellations of students and the teacher learning science content that was disconnected from school science. Implications include the need for teacher educators (a) to use a framework to examine their student teachers’ prior knowledge of field trip pedagogies; (b) to help their student teachers reflect more carefully on the pedagogy within informal settings, regardless of the location of the lesson; and (c) to help their student teachers construct the knowledge that science instruction within informal settings is connected to in-school science.

Impact of a Radiological Anatomy‐Based Intervention on Students in a Medical Gross Anatomy Course

Human gross anatomy is an integral aspect of medical education and serves as an important transition into the medical profession. Radiological imaging modalities serve as the link between gross anatomy content and clinical practice. At Duke University School of Medicine, anatomy faculty and radiologists collaborated to introduce radiological anatomy images into our gross anatomy course with the aim of reinforcing student learning of basic science content. We then investigated the effectiveness of this intervention from several perspectives.MethodsIn order to assess the impact of the radiological intervention, we administered: 1) a 12‐question pre‐test/post‐test, 2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of radiology‐based presentations, and 3) an evaluation of the usefulness of the radiology images used. Pre‐test/post‐test questions were selected from a previously validated question bank and were mapped to levels of cognitive processing as adapted from Bloom's Taxonomy. These questions spanned the content covered in our course (thorax, abdomen, pelvis, limbs, head/neck) and the radiological modalities learners would most likely be exposed to during their clinical training (X‐ray, MR, CT). At the conclusion of the course, Likert‐type questions were used to evaluate the learners' perceptions of the usefulness and effectiveness of the radiology presentations and images.ResultsOf 119 eligible learners, a total of 55 participants (46%) volunteered to take both the pre‐test and post‐test. Results of the paired t‐test showed there was a significant difference between the pre‐test (mean = 13.2%, SD = 8.9%) and post‐test (mean = 38.6%, SD = 17.7%) mean scores (t(54) = 9.9, p < 0.0001). Learners were most successful when questions included anatomy of the thorax and abdomen and MR or CT images, and on questions that were mapped to the analyze process. Additionally, survey feedback of all learners indicated all radiology presentations were rated as “adequately effective” (mean rating of 3 on a 5 point scale), and 65% of learners rated the radiological images as useful for studying in the course.ConclusionsResults of this study suggest that the introduction of radiological images was an effective intervention and may have contributed to participants' increased knowledge of gross anatomy content. Given the success of this intervention as evidenced here, we continued to integrate radiological images into gross anatomy instruction for the 2017 cohort. More broadly, this work adds to the growing area of research that supports the integration of clinically relevant applications into basic science courses.Support or Funding InformationSupport and funding provided by the Office of Curricular Affairs and Duke Academy for Health Professions Education and Academic Development, Duke University School of Medicine.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Examining Teacher Talk in an Engineering Design-Based Science Curricular Unit

Recent science education reforms highlight the importance for teachers to implement effective instructional practices that promote student learning of science and engineering content and their practices. Effective classroom discussion has been shown to support the learning of science, but work is needed to examine teachers’ enactment of engineering design-based science curricula by focusing on the content, complexity, structure, and orchestration of classroom discussions. In the present study, we explored teacher-student talk with respect to science in a middle school curriculum focused on genetics and genetic engineering. Our study was guided by the following major research question: What are the similarities and differences in teacher talk moves that occurred within an engineering design-based science unit enacted by two teachers? Through qualitative and quantitative approaches, we found that there were clear differences in two teachers’ use of questioning strategies and presentation of new knowledge that affected the level of student involvement in classroom discourse and the richness and details of student contributions to the conversations. We also found that the verbal explanations of science content differed between two teachers. Collectively, the findings in this study demonstrate that although the teachers worked together to design an engineering designed-based science curriculum unit, their use of different discussion strategies and patterns, and interactions with students differed to affect classroom discourse.

Building Reflective Practices in a Pre-service Math and Science Teacher Education Course That Focuses on Qualitative Video Analysis

ABSTRACTThe use of video for in-service and pre-service teacher development has been gaining acceptance, and yet video remains a challenging and understudied tool. Many projects have used video to help pre-service and in-service teachers reflect on their own teaching processes, examine teacher–student interactions, and develop their professional vision. But rarely has video been used in ways more akin to qualitative education research that is focused on student learning. Even more rarely has this focus occurred at the earliest stages of pre-service teaching when students have not yet decided to pursue teaching careers. Yet here we argue that there are benefits to our approach. We examine a course for prospective pre-service math and science teachers at the University of California, Berkeley, that engages participants in qualitative video analysis to foster their reflective practice. This course is unique in that the prospective pre-service teachers engage in qualitative video analysis at a level characteristic of professional educational research, in that their analysis focuses on student learning of math and science content. We describe classroom activities that provide opportunities for the pre-service teacher participants to better observe, notice, and interpret their students’ sociocognitive activity. The course culmination project involves participants developing and teaching lessons in a high school classroom. The participants then videotape the lessons and conduct qualitative video analysis. Results include detailed examples of two selected prospective pre-service teachers demonstrating coherent and effective approaches to conceptualizing the learning and teaching of mathematical and science content along with some potential design principles for building reflective practices through qualitative video projects.